Sahara Las Vegas' action against blogger dismissed

This week, Judge Trevor Atkin granted Scott Roeben, founder of VitalVegas.com, a special motion to dismiss a Sahara Las Vegas' lawsuit under the state's anti-SLAPP laws.

The casino had filed a suit against the blogger in August for spreading rumors that the property would close in a post titled "Sahara Las Vegas to Close Permanently, Per Sources," published on July 30.

"Current mood: Elated, exhausted, and thankful. Anti-SLAPP motion granted today—Sahara's frivolous defamation lawsuit was dismissed," Roeben tweeted.

The author, citing unnamed sources, wrote the property was expected to close permanently in September, News 3 Las Vegas reports.

Resort executives called the report "completely false" and said it would "detrimentally impact our team members, guests and community."

The lawsuit claimed staff had to undertake significant damage control and field calls from customers and vendors, some of whom suggested they would cancel plans or ask for deposits because of the rumors.

Sahara Las Vegas remains open and operating. A spokesperson said the resort was disappointed in the decision and said the story from July "is not something that can be relied upon for any factual, useful, or credible information."

"We continue to hold the opinion that Mr. Roeben’s conduct is not good for our team members, the industry or the community he says he serves," a spokesperson said in a statement.

In a statement to News 3, Roeben said he was thrilled the lawsuit was dismissed and made the comparison to his First Amendment rights.

"It’s unfortunate Sahara felt it had to resort to an absurd lawsuit that amounts to legal bullying to silence a voice it doesn’t like," he said.